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Nine soldiers were killed after their army helicopter crashed in a rural town in northern Colombian province of Bolívar on Monday.
A congressman is now raising doubts whether the Russian company that was awarded a $32.2 million contract to service military aircrafts is being honored.
The Colombia military said in a statement the helicopter was transporting supplies to troops in the municipality of Santa Rosa del Sur.
The area has been recently engulfed by an ongoing war between the National Liberation Army guerrilla group and Gulf Clan drug cartel.
Video footage on social media showed first responders at the crash site at a forest in the village of Guaraperia.
Colombia armed forces general Helder Giraldo said Tuesday that bad climate conditions may have caused the crash.
"What happened yesterday is the subject of investigation by a special body in the case of this type of accident," Giraldo told reporters. "We do not know what the failures could have been. What we do know is that the bad weather conditions yesterday could have been one of the causes."
He added the helicopter, according to records, "was in optimal condition"
First responders search the site of the Colombian army helicopter crash that left all nine soldiers on board in the northern town of Santa Rosa del Sur on Monday. The aircraft was transporting supplies to troops in the city when in crashed in the village of Guaraperia
At least 21 member of the military have been killed in five helicopter accidents since February 2023 in Colombia
'I regret the death of the nine members of the army helicopter flight that crashed to the ground and that was supplying troops to the south of Bolívar in operations against the Gulf clan,' President Gustavo Petro said on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.
According to the military, the MI-17 Russian-built chopper, that is often used to carry troops and supplies, crashed around 1:50pm local time.
The victims were identified as mayor Edward Espinosa; lieutenant colonel Jesús Carvajal; captain Cristián Ordoñez; and first vice sergeant Diego Ramírez.
The other troop members identified were non-commissioner officer Michael Villanueva; first corporal Cristian Ordoñez; third corporal Jhon Olea; and privates Sman Guerrero, Jesús Montalvo and Yeisson Mendoza.
The crash is the fifth accident involving the military since February 2023 in which 21 soldiers were killed.
The victims were identified as mayor Edward Espinosa (left top row); lieutenant colonel Jesús Carvajal (right top row); captain Cristián Ordoñez; first vice sergeant Diego Ramírez (left second row), non-commissioner officer Michael Villanueva (second from left second row); first corporal Cristian Ordoñez (second from the right second row); third corporal Jhon Olea (right second row); and privates Sman Guerrero (left third row), Jesús Montalvo (middle third row) and Yeisson Mendoza (right third row)
A search and rescue team canvasses the area where an army helicopter crashed, killing all nine soldiers on board in Santa Rosa del Sur, Colombia on Monday
All four soldiers on board a helicopter died in a crash on February 22 in Caramanta, a town in the department of Antioquia.
Another four soldiers were killed February 5 when their helicopter crashed in the Antioquia municipality of Carepa that borders with Panamá.
Congressman Julio Triana raised concern over the rash of crashes and questioned the Ministry of Defense over the $30.2 million contract that was awarded to NASC, a Russian firm, for the maintenance of military aircraft.
'It is the lives of our members of the public force that are at stake,' Triana said on X.
'We need the National Government to take action on the maintenance of helicopters and the entire air fleet that is currently used by the military.'
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